EPRC study gets Europe-wide press coverage

Research by the European Policies Research Centre (EPRC) on evaluation is featured in the Spring 2010 edition of 'Panorama' magazine published by the European Commission online (on the Inforegio website) and in print. 'Panorama' features an interview with Professor John Bachtler discussing the results of a major EPRC-led research project evaluating the management and Professor John Bachtlerimplementation of EU Cohesion policy in the 2000-06 period. The study, which was managed by Professor Bachtler and Laura Polverari, involved almost 40 researchers from 25 member states and investigated how effectively EU Structural Funds were being delivered, whether there was evidence of 'added value', and how the Funds contributed to sustainable development.

In the Panorama interview, Professor Bachtler highlighted the need for structural funds management to rediscover a sense of 'policy mission' - some of which has been lost over the last decade, as many EU-funded regional development programmes have become preoccupied with financial absorption at the expense of project quality.